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Crisis in Ukraine

The European Union is far from easing sanctions on Russia because of the persistent tensions in eastern Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Monday, as officials said clashes left at least 12 dead in some of the worst violence since a cease-fire signed earlier this month.

Ukraine’s Efforts to Regain Control of East Sputter

By James Marson, Paul Sonne, Lukas I. Alpert

One of several Ukrainian military vehicles commandeered by pro-Russian gunmen parades through the city of Slovyansk on Wednesday.

Associated Press

Ukraine’s military operation to wrest control in the east from pro-Russian separatists was stymied Wednesday, as civilians halted army columns in their tracks and militants hijacked Ukrainian military vehicles and drove them around with Russian flags.

There was also fresh violence at the end of the day when a group of antigovernment activists tried to storm a Ukrainian military installation in the southern city of Mariupol.

The Ukrainian National Guard said the troops there had refused to comply with demands to surrender their weapons and switch sides. Protesters began rushing the gates and throwing Molotov cocktails, according to the National Guard. Shots were fired and local news outlets reported an unknown number of people were wounded.

The faltering “antiterrorist” operation, launched a day earlier, leaves the government looking increasingly powerless in the face of separatists who are holding government buildings in as many as 10 cities close to the Russian border.

Ukrainian troops found themselves operating in often-hostile territory, while militants proclaiming loyalty to Russia were welcomed by cheering residents as defenders.

Ukraine says the militants are led by Russian agents, and that Moscow is aiming to slice off another piece of Ukrainian territory after annexing Crimea last month. Russia denies this.

The Ukrainian army also appeared in bad shape: Some of the soldiers blocked by civilians were reservists with rusty vehicles who eagerly accepted the food and water offered to them.

A security official in the capital Kiev said the government was well aware of the army’s troubles, adding that its performance would improve.

“Unfortunately, we have no experience with military operations, so it’s really difficult, but we’re learning very fast,” said Viktoria Syumar, deputy head of the National Security and Defense Council.

The stumbling start underscored difficulties faced by the new government as it seeks to regain control but avoid bloody clashes.

It also leaves Kiev with narrowing options a day ahead of its first direct talks with Moscow. Envoys from both countries, as well as the U.S. and European Union, are to meet Thursday in Geneva.

Even if the Ukrainian government does muster more force, that would risk further undermining its already-shaky legitimacy in the east, as residents accuse it of sending soldiers against unarmed civilians.

In Geneva, Russia has indicated it would press its case that Ukraine should become a federation, with regions handed broad control over economic, cultural and foreign policy. That would hobble the pro-Western government’s attempts to reorient the country away from Moscow and toward Europe.

Kiev has said it is willing to hand more powers to the regions, but stopping short of federalism.

Russia has shown no sign of backing down, claiming its forces aren’t involved in the unrest and ignoring Western threats of further sanctions for its apparent support of separatists.

Moscow has deployed tens of thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine, and repeatedly said it could send them into Ukraine to protect the local population.

On Wednesday, Gen. Philip Breedlove, the top military officer for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said there hadn’t been any sign that Russia has moved to pull back its forces from the border.

He also said the unrest in Ukraine’s east appears concentrated in places that are key communication and trade points in the region.

And it was continuing: Armed men wearing masks and fatigues took control of the mayor’s office Wednesday in the regional capital of Donetsk, the first such action in a major city in the east in nearly two weeks.

Ukrainian forces attempted earlier to establish an operating base in the town of Kramatorsk and moved units from a nearby military air base into the city.

According to Ukraine’s defense ministry and a witness who spoke by phone, a column of six armored vehicles was halted by an angry mob of civilians and then commandeered by heavily armed men wearing military-style uniforms.

The gunmen then took the vehicles to nearby Slovyansk, which has been a focal point for the separatists.

The six vehicles then took up positions around a cafe near the city council building, and dozens of masked men in fatigues—with no insignia—carrying automatic weapons and sniper rifles formed a cordon around them.

When asked who they were, a masked soldier patrolling near the vehicles claimed the unit was part of the 25th brigade of Ukraine’s airborne forces that had switched sides.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry denied the unit had defected. In a terse statement it offered no explanation for the quick surrender or what their orders had been. Other soldiers engaged in the military operation have said their orders are not to shoot unless shot at. The military is also demoralized and poorly fed and trained after years of mismanagement stripped it of funds.

The Defense Ministry said it didn’t know the whereabouts of the soldiers who had been with the hijacked vehicles. But local reports, citing militia commanders, said they had been taken captive by the separatists, but were later let go and sent back to their base aboard buses from Slovyansk.

The men controlling the vehicles, who also had no insignia on their uniforms, were joined later by armed irregulars who have controlled this town, about 100 miles from the border with Russia, since Saturday.

A crowd of about 200 locals gathered around the vehicles and began cheering when one of them showed off by driving in tight circles. Residents took turns posing for photos with the armed men.

Before the shooting late Wednesday in Mariupol, the only reported violence was a brief clash Tuesday at the military airfield in Kramatorsk, when Ukrainian soldiers fired at an armed mob of protesters that approached the gates of the base. At least one person was injured then.

Ukraine’s acting-President Oleksandr Turchynov said on Tuesday that the “antiterrorist operation” would be methodical and done in stages. Some U.S. military officials have expressed concerns about the readiness of the Ukrainian armed forces for urban combat and have suggested that the deployment in the region appears disorganized.

Pro-Russian forces took over government and police buildings in a string of small eastern Ukrainian cities last weekend and have since erected roadblocks in the region.

Those takeovers came a week after separatist groups tried to commandeer buildings with mixed success in three key cities in the east.

In one of them, Donetsk, protesters succeeded in occupying an administration building. The situation there had been the same until Wednesday, when armed men who identified themselves as members of a pro-Russian activist group seized the mayor’s office in another building down the road. No shots were fired.

Inside the building lobby Wednesday afternoon, the mostly young activists milled around with assorted weapons and mismatched fatigues. Their leader, who was demanding local authorities back the idea of a referendum for the Donetsk region, held talks with city higher-ups. Business carried on as usual, with officials filing in and out amid the occupation.

Members of the deposed President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions met in Donetsk on Wednesday and endorsed some of the pro-Russia protesters’ demands, describing them as legitimate peaceful protesters rather than Russian agents.

The Donetsk region is the Party of Regions’ power base and it is backed by many of the area’s tycoons, including the country’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.

The party’s support collapsed after Mr. Yanukovych fled at the end of February amid pro-Europe protests. But it is now trying to rebuild support, calling for Ukraine to remain united but demanding more power for their region.

Party officials passed a resolution condemning the government’s attempt to use the armed forces to suppress what they described as peaceful protests.

The resolution also called for amending the constitution to make Russian the second official state language, and for amnesty for activists involved in the recent protests.

The resolution also appealed to protesters to lay down their arms.

A few dozen miles away near Kramatorsk, the military was experiencing difficulties in establishing an operating zone.

Outside the city, 14 Ukrainian armored vehicles were blockaded by a crowd, which angrily demanded an explanation as to why the soldiers were there. Locals also gave the troops cigarettes, food and water.

Soldiers perched on the vehicles said they didn’t know what their mission was, adding they were reservists. Asked if they were part of the antiterrorist operation, one of the soldiers said he didn’t know.